Northern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 8th to 11th century CE. A gorgeous arm band formed from a single elongated sheet of high-grade (98.5%) silver. The band coils around itself four times to form an easily-removable accessory, and the tightly wound terminals make for elegant ornamentation. The exterior surfaces are densely-adorned with a plethora of stamped motifs including a central, undulating band of Odal runes (also known as the Othala rune - representative of heritage or possession), with the exposed spaces either above or below filled with impressed triangles and dozens of small dots. Viking men and women would wear accessories like this example as a sign of religious belief and visual wealth. They were often used as currency or deposited in rivers as offerings to the gods, though they were also buried with their owners upon death. A beautiful and wearable example of fine Viking silver! Size (widest wrist opening): 2.5" W x 3.25" H (6.4 cm x 8.3 cm); quality of silver: 98.5%; total weight: 146.9 grams.
The important Viking metalworking shops correspond to their great trading ports and proto-urban centers - Birka, Helgo, Sigtuna, and Lund in Sweden, Ribe, Haithabu (Hedeby), and Fyrkat in Denmark, and Kaupang and Trondheim in Norway. Silver was the principal currency of the Viking world, which stretched from Russia to northern Canada at the height of their influence. In many places, the Vikings kept silver not as coins, but as jewelry, a wearable currency form that was not subject to the authority of a monarch or mint. One of the most common archaeological finds from the Viking period is a hoard of metal objects, often buried in the earth or deposited in bodies of water, like river beds.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection
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#143927
Condition
Wearable as shown. Slight bending to overall form and some coils, light softening to some stamped motifs, and light encrustations within some recessed areas, otherwise intact and near-choice. Light earthen deposits and great patina throughout.